El Faro Capt. Michael Davidson, of Windham, said in his final call for help that the "clock was ticking" as his ship took on water and lost propulsion.

The 40-year-old El Faro left Jacksonville for Puerto Rico on Sept. 29 before encountering Hurricane Joaquin on Oct. 1. The ship sank Oct. 1, just hours after it lost propulsion and reported that it was taking on water near the Bahamas.

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Thirty-three crew members were on board, including Davidson, crew members Dylan Meklin and Danielle Randolph, both of Rockland, and Michael Holland, of Wilton. All four were graduates of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, as was Mitchell Kuflik, of New York City.

WMTW

Part of Capt. Michael Davidson's final call was played Saturday in Jacksonville during the fifth day of U.S. Coast Guard investigative hearings into the sinking.

Davidson called the emergency operations center in the morning on the day the El Faro sank.

Davidson said the ship had a hull breach, was taking on water and listing. He said he'd lost propulsion and the engineers couldn't fix it.

“Oh man. The clock is ticking," he is heard saying. "I have a marine emergency.”

His call was then transferred to company safety official Capt. John Lawrence, who said Davidson sounded calm and planned to activate his emergency beacons. Lawrence said Davidson assured him the crew was safe.

TOTE officials have said at previous hearings that it was up to the captain to change routes based on weather.

The National Transportation Safety Board will launch a second search for the ship’s voyage data recorder in April.

WMTW News 8's Katie Thompson will be in Jacksonville, Florida, for the second week of hearings starting Feb. 22.